Age matters to me. Hoses and belts don't last forever. If the owner has replaced all the rubber hoses there is no reason a 20 year old vehicle can't go long trips, but if it has the original hoses on it, one never knows what will happen once it spends 15 hours at full operating temp.
When does a car “age out” for long distance road trips?
- Thread starter Elkins45
- Start date
Totally depends on the car. I would not drive a Range Rover or a Maserati more than 50 miles from home, no matter how new they were. But a well maintained 1981-85 five cylinder Mercedes diesel would probably run fine on any coast to coast run.
This resourceful and skilled guy seems to have no problem with cross country driving of cars in poor mechanical condition. In this video it is a 2500 mile trip from Vegas to Philadelphia, with multiple road side and parking lot repairs on the drive home.
I'd say you know it when you see it:
~2012 I'm at the BMW dealer; guy in his 20's is there with his girl. They had been towed in from 95N on their way up to NYC. Some kind of crazy 90's M something with a [blown] V10. Dealer is saying ~$40k for a new "Powerpack" [to be ordered and shipped from Germany] plus labor
. They are discussing a short-term lease on a CPO off the lot until the work is done... Probably should have taken something else for that road trip.
~2012 I'm at the BMW dealer; guy in his 20's is there with his girl. They had been towed in from 95N on their way up to NYC. Some kind of crazy 90's M something with a [blown] V10. Dealer is saying ~$40k for a new "Powerpack" [to be ordered and shipped from Germany] plus labor
. They are discussing a short-term lease on a CPO off the lot until the work is done... Probably should have taken something else for that road trip.exactly- a long road trip will stress out parts that short tripping around home will not. Like that radiator plastic side tank or some o ring deep in the transmission, etc.
My limit is a car with less than 150K and 10 yo for a long trip, esp in the summer.
JHZR2
Staff member
I mean it may, or it may not. And many of these things let go slowly, weeping or giving a signal.
I’d go anywhere with my 30-40yo vehicles, even my 445k mile truck.
Good idea, I keep one in my 88 E-150.
His risk assessment leaves much to be desired. He’s working under a car supported only by a bumper jack!
Rusted suspension parts and frames should never be a surprise though, and in the rust belt every tire swap is a good time to have a look at things and bang around with a hammer on anything looking suspect. Just looking at stuff like hoses and rads, brake lines, all the show stoppers can catch some obviously looming problems, but I am not pre-emptively changing fuel or water pumps either so I suppose at some point they will be due for failure...
I saw that too.....just another ________ making a video, even though the topic and some points might be solid.
Pooping around town, then graduating to longer trips is the way to resurrect a neglected car.
I can't believe I read each post of this thread. The vehicle and trip specifics are intriguing to me.
Just weeks ago I spoke to a guy who was towing a large boat to a marina on the Hudson River from Mississippi.
His big, professionally used (business name on the doors) 2019 GM whatever with 56K on the clock broke its plastic idler pulley.
WOW MAN, look at that touch screen.....gimme a break with this cheap part stupidity.
I love Motor Trend’s Roadkill series as an extreme version of this question. I wouldn’t sit in most of the vehicles they roadtrip for fear of tetanus. I guess there is always an element of the devil you know versus the devil you don’t when driving older cars that you personally know the history of versus a used car with higher mileage. I’ve certainly owned older cars that I didn’t trust anymore and I put them to pasture.
Maintenance is the key. I routinely take my 4 2006/2007 on cross country trips during vacations with the family.
Every oil change I ask the tire shop who does the oil change to do a free thorough inspection of the underside of the car (brakes, suspension components, exhaust, etc) to give me early warning if anything needs to be replaced.
I only use genuine Honda parts (bought from a low cost out of state Honda dealer's online parts dept) and get them delivered by UPS to my home, so I know all parts are genuine Honda. Honda parts last decades, after market parts last a few years. So I never use aftermarket parts.
I think cars made by Japanese car manufactures are reliable vehicles with high mileage (150k+ miles).
But I don't think I would have the same confidence with non Japanese brands.
Japanese manufacturers put an emphasis on extensive quality assurance on each part.
Other manufacturers seem more interested in cutting corners at every phase of development.
My dad & I took a 5,000 mile road trip/vacation in his '03 Tahoe last October to places far away as West Yellowstone, MT & Crescent City, CA.
Not one issue, Other than it could've used a 6 speed auto crossing some of those mountain ranges.
Not one issue, Other than it could've used a 6 speed auto crossing some of those mountain ranges.
IMO it’s not a matter of the equipment itself, it’s the mindset of the individual and how he/she deals with taking risks and problem solving.
You can clearly see in this thread. Some people make some arbitrary line where they don’t “trust” a vehicle while others are fine with whatever.
I think people that tend to DIY and keep their vehicles long term, are less afraid of taking long trips with their high mileage vehicles.
You can clearly see in this thread. Some people make some arbitrary line where they don’t “trust” a vehicle while others are fine with whatever.
I think people that tend to DIY and keep their vehicles long term, are less afraid of taking long trips with their high mileage vehicles.
What if it was someone elses Chevy Cruze? I bet you only trust it because you've maintained it and know it's quirks
I have a 2007 Pontiac g6 beater bought new was always just a around the house car designated to no one. A little over 100k miles my mechanic says I can drive it to Florida tomorrow no problem me personally no I don't trust it
Agreed. In general, driving any given distance continuously at a fairly steady speed is going to be much easier on the vehicle as a whole and LESS likely to cause a failure than driving the same distance in traffic over many start/stop cycles and heat cycles.
There are certainly exceptions though. For example, on vehicles that aren't normally driven long enough to fully warm up, there could already be a cooling system problem or a temperature sensitive problem that hasn't been exposed yet. Things like failing crank sensors and ignition modules can work fine when cool and then fail once they get hot after 20+ minutes of driving.
Another exception could be subjecting the vehicle to conditions it doesn't normally see such as bad roads, steep grades, temperature extremes, high altitudes, and heavy traffic.
Hoses and belts have been replaced multiple times on my 1984 Oldsmobile.
